New Delhi, May 4, 2009
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Nepal PM Prachanda resigns
Kathmandu:
Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' today announced resignation
from his post after President Ram Baran Yadav vetoed the government's decision
to sack Chief of Army Staff, General Rookmangad Katawal. Prachanda made the announcement
in his address to the nation this afternoon. Describing President Yadav's move
as unconstitutional, he said it has dealt serious blow to democracy, peace process
and the newly established republican order. He also asked him to rectify his decision.
Saying that a constitutional President has no right to block the decisions of
an elected government, Prachanda accused him of acting under provocation of some
parties. On Sunday, Prachanda had sacked General Katawal accusing him of defying
the civilian authority. The Maoists have termed the President's action as 'constitutional
coup.' Finance Minister and senior Maoist leader Dr. Baburam Bhattarai has said
that his party would hit the streets now demanding resignation of the President.
The crisis follows months of tussle between the Prime Minister and the Army Chief
over the induction of former Maoist rebels into the army, Nepalnews reported.
Kathmandu: President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav accepted the resignation of the Prime
Minister on Monday evening, stated a report on Nepal News. Dahal had submitted
his resignation to the President at the latter's office, Shitwal Niwa, soon after
announcing his resignation through an address to the nation. President Yadav has
also asked the incumbent Council of Ministers to carry out its duty till a new
Council of Ministers is formed.
India
hopes Nepal will solve crisis internally Top
New
Delhi: While expressing concern over the latest political developments in
neighbouring Nepal , External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said
that said it is an internal matter of that country, which it has to resolve. “What
is happening in Nepal is internal to Nepal . We wish Nepal well in its transition
to a fully democratic polity and would hope that the present crisis is resolved
in a manner which contributes to the early conclusion of the peace process,” he
said. . “We would hope that the broadest possible political consensus would make
it possible for Nepal to concentrate on the agreed tasks of Constitution making
and of democratic transition,” he added.
Meanwhile,
in Nepal , the Maoists threatended to launch agitation from House and street on
Monday evening. The Unified CPN (Maoist) decided to agitate in the parliament
and the street until their decision to sack Chief of Army Staff Rookmangud Katawal
is implemented, stated a Nepal News report. A meeting of the party secretariat
held at Baluwatar Monday evening following Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s
resignation decided to launch the agitation in favour of democracy and civil supremacy.
Dahal had announced his resignation through an address to the nation Monday afternoon.
Maoist leaders said further protest programmes will be announced after a Central
Committee meeting of the Maoists, the report added. Earlier, President Dr. Ram
Baran Yadav accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Monday
evening. He had submitted his resignation to the President at the latter's office,
Shitwal Niwa, soon after announcing his resignation through an address to the
nation. President Yadav also asked the incumbent Council of Ministers to carry
out its duty till a new Council of Ministers is formed. While announcing the resignation,
Prachanda accused "national and international reactionary forces" of hatching
a "conspiracy" against his government and the nascent republic which abolished
its 240-year-old monarchy in May last year. "I will quit the government rather
than remain in power by bowing down to the foreign elements and reactionary forces,"
said Prachanda, whose government was sworn in on August 15 last year after the
Maoists emerged as the single largest party in the Constituent Assembly elections.
In an indirect reference to India , Prachanda said his party was ready to maintain
"cordial relations" with the neighbouring countries but would "not accept any
intervention". Prachanda accused "reactionary forces" of obstructing the Maoist
government in its efforts to introduce various reform programmes. He admitted
that the government could not perform upto the expectations of people "due to
various obstacles put by regressive forces and ongoing shutdowns and agitations".
He also said he was committed to democracy, human rights and press freedom and
asserted his party's commitment to the peace process. Presently, the Maoist strength
in the 601-member Constituent Assembly is 238. The NC has 112 seats, UML 108,
Madhesi People's Rights Forum 53, Terai Madhes Democratic Party 21 and Sadbhavana
Party nine seats. A minimum of 301 seats are required to form a government. Pushpa
Kamal Dahal, a former school-teacher who had come to be known as 'Prachanda' (the
fierce one) while fighting a guerrilla warfare from jungles of Nepal in the 1990s,
had been facing a series of hiccups in running the administration since taking
over, the latest being the tiff with the army chief. The collapse of his government
raises the spectre of renewed Maoist unrest in the country which is yet to draft
a new constitution despite the formation of the Constituent Assembly in April
last year. President Yadav has urged all political parties to find a way out of
the present crisis through Parliament. He also said that his move to block the
sacking of army chief was in accordance with the constitution. Former premier
and opposition Nepali Congress president Girija Prasad Koirala said the peace
process will have to be taken to its logical conclusion. He also said the Maoist
party can be a constituent in a CPN (UML)-led government. "What is wrong if Maoists
be part of the coming government which will be led by UML. I do not see why we
cannot have that," he said. Meanwhile, in another development, the local administration
banned demonstrations in areas surrounding the army headquarters and the Presidential
Office at Maharajgunj to maintain law and order in view of demonstrations by various
student and youth groups, including pro-Maoist Young Communist League (YCL).
SC issues notice to Big B on IT petition
Top
New
Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice
to actor Amitabh Bachchan on a petition filed by the Income Tax Department. A
bench headed by Justice S.S. Kapadia posted the matter for hearing on October
28. The Income Tax department has questioned a Bombay High Court order for giving
Bachchan respite from tax on his income from the popular TV game show ''Kaun Banega
Crorepati''. Bachchan, who hosted the show, had received tax exemption on 30 percent
of his total income of Rs. 50.92 crore. The actor has earlier asked the court
to cut down on his tax under the Section 80 RR of the Income-Tax Act, considering
that he was an artist. The Income Tax department has asked the Bombay court to
explain on what basis it gave the tax relief to Bachchan when, according to law,
only those artists who earn by performing outside the country or receive payment
from foreign agencies can be allowed to enjoy tax redemption. The IT department
argued that Bachchan was anchoring the show for Star India Ltd. and cannot be
termed as an artist for his role in the programme.
Sensex
at seven-month high, crosses 12K mark Top
Mumbai: The Bombay Stock Exchange Benchmark
Sensex crossed the 12,000 mark today for the first time since October. At 10:34
a.m, the 30-share index, which had gained 401.50 points in the previous trading
session, added another 521.93 points at 11,925.18. BSE Midcap Index was up by
3.43 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index moved 3.08 percent higher. Amongst the sectoral
indices, BSE Metal Index was up by 7.14 per cent, BSE IT Index gained 5.78 per
cent and BSE Bankex moved 5.52 per cent higher. BSE Healthcare Index also gained
1.42 per cent. The rise in the index was attributed to brisk buying by funds in
blue-chip shares in the early trade. Likewise, the National Stock Exchange's Nifty
went up by 148.50 points to touch a seven-month high of 3,622.45 points. Biggest
Sensex gainers were Sterlite Industries (11.72 percent), Mahindra and Mahindra
(9.63 percent), HDFC (9.58 percent), Hindalco Industries (9.1 percent) and Tata
Steel (8.84 percent). There were no losers in the 30-share index. Meanwhile, shares
across the Asia-Pacific region were also on the rise. Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained
4.68 per cent, Singapore's Straits Times rose by 4.59 per cent and China's Shanghai
Composite rose by 3.28 per cent.
Himachal
school expels seven students for ragging Top
Sanawar
(HP): A public school in Himachal Pradesh has said it has expelled seven students
over ragging charges. Officials said at least 10 students were hurt when their
seniors ragged them for refusing to cheer their team during a school basketball
match. School authorities said they expelled the seven senior students after conducting
an enquiry. "When I came to know about ragging, I had an enquiry done in 24 hours.
After investigation, a report came to me. An advice was also taken from the discipline
committee. The children against whom we found evidences were expelled in 30 hours
from the time the incident came into notice," said Parveen Vasistha, head master
of Lawrence School. The students who were expelled belonged to 12th class while
the victims were one year junior to them. Vasistha said the victims had bruises
on their back. "Maximum 10 students were hurt. Most of them had marks on their
backs that were not acceptable," said Vasistha. However, the school has not registered
any police case against the culprits. The State Government has ordered and inquiry
into the incident. A committee led by Deputy Commissioner of Solan district will
conduct the inquiry. Two months back another incident of ragging and death of
a student in the state had caused an uproar and strong condemnation across the
country.
Two
arrested in Ambani helicopter sabotage case Top
New Delhi: Two employees
of the aircraft maintenance firm Air Works India Engineering Pvt. Ltd., suspected
to be involved in the Anil Ambani's helicopter sabotage case were arrested on
Monday. The police informed that according to their investigations, the two employees,
identified as Palraj Thevar and Uday Warekar, played a significant role in the
conspiracy to kill Ambani by tampering with his Bell 412 helicopter. The duo would
be presented before a magistrate at the metropolitan court later on Monday, the
police said. The police is also interrogating a former Airworks employee ,Vijay
Patankar, who was taken into custody on Sunday. On May 1, three officials of the
Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, who were interrogated in connection with the death
of Airworks technician Bharat Borge, were given a clean chit by Railway Police.
On April 23, Bharat Borge had discovered pebbles and gravel in the gearbox filler
cap of a helicopter used by Ambani. Borge, who could have acted as the prime witness
in the case, was on April 28 found dead under mysterious circumstances on the
tracks between Vile Parle and Andheri suburban stations. Following the incident,
the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani group declared that they have cancelled the maintenance
contract of its three choppers with Airworks India Engineering Pvt. Ltd. In a
letter dated April 24, the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (R-ADAG) had alleged
that the discovery of the pebbles and gravel in the helicopter's filler neck was
a clear case of an attempt to murder Anil Ambani by business rivals. However,
the police has clearly ruled out the possibility of a business rivalry behind
the case.
Panel
on ex-servicemen's 'One Rank, One Pension' demand Top
New
Delhi: Heeding the long held demand of retired defence personnel, the Government
has constituted two high-level committees to look into the various issues concerning
'One Rank, One Pension' of ex-servicemen. In the absence of 'One Rank-One Pension',
anomalies in the pension of two persons of same rank arise and also there are
instances of hundreds of war veterans drawing lower amount of pension as compared
to personnel who retired in the recent past. The Government has constituted a
high level committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary to reduce the gap in the
pensionary benefits to soldiers and officers and bring it as close to 'One Rank,
One Pension'. "The other members of the committee are Defence Secretary, Home
Secretary, Secretary (Personnel), Secretary (Expenditure), and Secretary (Ex-Servicemen
Welfare)," said a senior Defence ministry source. Financially the decision will
additionally cost the government around 500-600 crore per annum and would be much
less than the estimated financial liability for grant of OROP, the source said.
The other committee set up by the Ministry of Defence will be headed by Secretary
(Defence Finance), Indu Liberhan, to sort out anomalies in the implementation
of orders relating to armed forces pensioners. The Sixth Pay Commission report
had recommended 50 per cent weightage for armed forces PBORs during retirement,
whereas earlier they would receive 70 per cent weightage until rehabilitated in
other paramilitary for.
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